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Earth
The Earth, also known as Terra,' Gaia',' '''or' Sol III', is the third planet in the Sol System and the largest terrestrial planet in the Solar System. The Earth formed 4.6 million years ago and is the home of the human (or Terran) race as well as many other species, including dolphins, mosquitos and mice. It is relatively unique due to its abundance of liquid water, which covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The Earth has one natural satellite, known as the Moon or Luna. The Earth has been invaded and colonized by many other species over the course of its existence, however humans and native Earth species still remain the majority on the planet. History The Earth is believed to have been formed around 4.5672 billion years ago. The Earth is not a natural planetoid - it was constructed by the Magratheans to house an enormous computer meant to calculate the ultimate question to Life, the Universe, and Everything. The Magratheans used white holes to form the planet by accretion and, during this process, a Racnoss spaceship was inadvertently embedded in the center of the planet. One of the architects of Earth was Slartibartfast, who won an award for designing the majestic fjords of Norway. Shortly after its formation, the Great Old One Cthugha appeared on Earth. Approximately 4 billion years ago, the Earth experienced the First Impact (also known as the Giant Impact or Big Splash), in which another planetoid, known as Theia, collided with the Earth, resulting in the ejection of a massive amount of debris that would come to form the Moon. Shortly after, an ancient humanoid species known as the Engineers began seeding planets in the Milky Way galaxy, Earth included, with their genetic material. Alien Developments As life on Earth was beginning to take form, unspeakably horrific and powerful creatures arrived or developed on Earth, notably Yidhra, an Outer God known also as the ''Dream Witch, and Tsathoggua, a Great Old One, also known as the Toad God or the Sleeper of N'kai. Over the coming millennia, many more of these terrible creatures interacted with the Earth and its inhabitants. Around 1 billion years ago, the Elder Things first arrived on Earth, establishing one of the planet's first empires, which was built on the back of their bio-engineered servants, the Shoggoths. The dominance of the Elder Things was challenged by the arrival of the Flying Polyps, who were in turn defeated, driven underground, and imprisoned by the Great Race of Yith, who built the great library city of Pnakotus. Life on earth continued to develop and biodiversity increased enormously during the Cambrian Explosion. Later, fish and amphibians species evolved as the Elder Things manipulated Earth's primordial ooze left behind by the Engineers. Furthermore, the great tree Yggdrasil (the World Tree) began to grow approximately 425 million years ago. Approximately 350 million years ago, great seismic instability resulted in the creation of new landmasses such as Ponape, Mu-Lemuria and R'lyeh while simultaneously destroying several of the Elder Things' submarine cities. Shortly after, the Great Old One Cthulhu arrived with his followers from the star Xoth, settling on these new continents and coming into conflict with the Elder Things. The followers of Cthulhu along with the Deep Ones founded the non-Euclidean city of R'lyeh on the continent of the same name. However, 50 million years later, an intense cosmic cataclysm of unknown nature induced severe seismological activity on the Earth, causing the majority of the new continents to sink back below the waves as the Great Old Ones were imprisoned by an unknown force. The next great empire that arose was the Serpent People civilization, focused on the kingdom of Valusia on the continent of Mu-Lemuria. The Serpent People were possibly spawn of the Great Old One Yig, the Father of Serpents, and their civilization lasted for approximately 50 million years before being destroyed by the rise of the dinosaurs 225 million years ago, although the species did not die out. The Serpent People are believed to be related to the Silurian and Sea Devil species, which developed around the same time but lasted much longer. The Silurian and Sea Devil civilizations lasted until around 70 million years ago, when they went into suspended animation due to a predicted cataclysmic impact from a space object, which never occurred. After the collapse of their civilization, the Serpent People fled underground. The most prosperous subterranean Serpent People settlement in this time was Yoth, which flourished under guidance from the imprisoned Yig, whom they worshipped as a deity. Yoth was doomed, however, after its inhabitants turned away from Yig to worship Ythogtha. The majority of the Serpent People relocated to a realm beneath Mount Voormithadreth in Hyperborea. The Mi-go arrived 160 million years ago to set up mining operations and came into conflict with the Elder Things, which continued to flourish for another 60 million years. The Mi-go settled much of the northern hemisphere and the continent of Mu-Lemuria and brought the Black Seal of Iraan and the Shining Trapezohedron to Earth. The Earth suffered a major ecological crisis 66.6 million years ago when an out-of-time space freighter crashed into the Earth, triggering an enormous anti-matter explosion responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs. Not all dinosaurs went extinct, however. Some survived under the surface of the Earth in great hollow caverns or isolated areas in North and South America, and others instead had evolved into what are today known as dragons. Another seismic event shook the earth around 50 million years ago, releasing the Flying Polyps from their imprisonment and causing the Great Race of Yith to flee Earth. This event also destroyed many Elder Thing cities, including their original settlement in Antarctica. Human Development Modern humanoids first developed around 15 million years ago, with the rise of the Hominids, which included early humans as well as chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans. These ape men continued to slowly develop and speciate, with humans becoming distinct around 8 million years ago. Humans were spurred to evolve and develop even more by the arrival of a mysterious black monolith in Olduvai Gorge, Africa 5 million years later. Around the same time, refugees fleeing the extermination of their race by the Cylons settled on Earth, reproducing with the semi-evolved ape-men and spurring further development. Among the settlers was Hera Agathon, a half-human, half-Cylon girl. All human beings of Earth are descended from Hera Agathon. This new species of human development is classified as the genus'' Homo'', and made up the First Generation. The Cylon-Human hybrids ruled over their fully-human counterparts through their superior technology, which included neuro-transmitters and powerful artifacts known in modern times as the Pieces of Eden. The rise of the First Generation hastened the decline of the Elder Thing civilization, who by 2 million years ago were pushed back to Antarctica and the southern tip of South America. The decline of the Elder Thing civilization was further hastened by the beginning of the Quaternary Glaciation period approximately 2.6 million years ago. By 748,000 BCE, the Elder Things had largely been driven underground. The Serpent People civilization was also affected, and many of their number left Hyperborea for Mu-Lemuria where they founded the Second Kingdom of Valusia. Nevertheless, humans spread around the globe with the rise of the Lemurian and Bedrock civilizations, the former of which coming into conflict with the Kingdom of Valusia while the latter was notable for its domestication of an isolated colony of dinosaurs. The first true human nation to emerge was the Kingdom of Nemedis on Mu-Lemuria, which emerged around 500,000 years ago amid hostility with the Serpent People of Valusia. The conflict between Nemedis and Valusia lasted for a thousand years and resulted in a human victory as Valusia was reduced to only the southernmost portion of the continent surrounding its capital as well as the surrounding islands. This was the first human war and first human victory in Earth's history. The Kingdom of Nemedis worshipped gods including Ghatanothoa, Ythogtha, and Zoth-Ommog and reached its zenith approximately 200,000 years ago. The Kingdom of Nemedis was also the first instance of wide-scale use of magic by humans. Aproximately 395,000 years ago, the continent of Mu-Lemuria experienced severe volcanic activity that split the continent in two, creating the sub-continent known as Atlantis. Shortly after this, the Empire of Atlantis was founded with its capital at Caiphul. A rare lunar eclipse occurred in 173,148 BCE, marking the Year of the Red Moon. In the Kingdom of Nemedis, Ghatanothoa became the supreme deity after destroying the High Priest of Shub-Niggurath. However, around 163,000 years ago, Mu-Lemuria was struck down by the Elder Gods after Zanthu, the last High Priest of Ythogtha attempted to free his master from imprisonment. This event marked the end of the Kingdom of Nemedis and the Lemurian continent, which was further reduced to the subcontinent of Thuria and the many Lemurian Isles. The inhabitants of the Lemurian Isles began to abandon the dark, ritualistic magics that had ben the norm in Nemedis in favor of elementalism. Lemurian Islander culture was divided into nations and tribes based on which of the four elemental magics was practiced there, a craft known as bending. According to Lemurian Islanders, only one person could master all four of the elements, a being known as the Avatar. The destruction of Mu-Lemuria also impacted Atlantis, which reorganized as the Second Empire of Atlantis, with its capital at the City of the Golden Gates. The First Disaster Around 75,000 years ago, two humans, named Adam and Eve, stole a Piece of Eden from the Cylon-Human rulers of the First Civilization, prompting the Human-First Civilization War. The conflict seemed relatively balanced; the humans possessed greater numbers and a higher birth rate while the Cylons had their powers of projection and the Pieces of Eden. However, both sides were devastated by the First Disaster, also known as the Great Catastrophe. An intense coronal mass ejection and solar flare struck the Earth, causing a geomagnetic reversal of the Earth's poles and rendering the planet seismologically and environmentally unstable. Catastrophic lightning storms, earthquakes, and wildfires ravaged the land, leaving fewer than ten thousand living humans and far fewer Cylons. Cylons and humans began to interbreed, mixing their genes, but only survive in Atlantis and the Thurian subcontinent. Cylons' genetically passed down their abilities of projection, although only those with a sufficiently high-level of Cylon genetic make-up (approximately 1 in ten million humans) could accurately utilize the ability, known in layman's terms as Eagle Vision. The solar ejection of the First Disaster was so massive that the heat and light output of the Sun decreased dramatically, precipitating the beginning of the Ice Age. The Age of Arda Spring of Arda Aproximately 50,000 years ago, fifteen beings known as the Valar arrived on Earth. During the Ordering of Arda, the Valar raised and settled the island of Almaren in the Great Lake. The Valar constructed two great towers at the northern and southern ends of the Middle Earth (the Eurasian continent), each of which held one of the Lamps of the Valar. With the heat and light provided by the Lamps, plant and animal life on Earth experienced a resurgence. However, Almaren along with the lamps and towers were destroyed around 38,000 years ago by the rogue Valar known as Melkor, plunging the world into darkness. The Valar retreated to Aman, the modern-day Americas, where they established the Realm of Valinor, while Melkor ruled over Middle Earth, filling the lands with decay and terrible creatures. Years of the Trees 500 years later, the Valar created the Trees of the Valar to once again light the Earth. The Trees were located outside of Valimar, the capital Valinor. The First Age The First Age saw the creation of the Elves, Dwarves and Ents. The Awakening of the Elves occurred approximately 27 and half thousand years go in Cuiviénen, on the shores of the Inland Sea of Helcar. Melkor was able to capture many Elves after their Awakening, torturing them with dark magic and turning them into Orcs. After 500 years, the Valar initiated the War of the Powers against Melkor for his actions against the elves and Melkor was captured and brought to Valinor in chains. Shortly after, the Valar summoned the Elves to Aman, prompting the Great Journey of the Elves. Not all Elves heeded the call, however, resulting in the Sundering of the Elven race. Morgoth was released from imprisonment around 24,000 years ago and sowed discontent for the Valar among the Noldor Elves. Around 21,500 BCE, the three Silmarils were forged, infused with the light of the Two Trees, but approximately 425 years later, Melkor stole the gems and his associate, the giant spider Ungoliant, consumed the Two Trees of the Valar before they both fled to Middle Earth. Thereafter, Melkor was known only as Morgoth, literally, "Dark Enemy." Soon after, the Noldor pursued Melkor across the sea, sparking the War of the Great Jewels between the Elves and Melkor's forces. The Valar used the last surviving remnants of the Two Trees to increase the Sun's activity, thereby bringing about the end of the Ice Age.